About Fsus2 — triad voicings
Fsus2 is F, G and C — F with the third replaced by the second.
It sounds open, and neither major nor minor. With no third it works over either quality, which is why strummed parts lean on it.
Fsus2 notes and formula
| F | G | C |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
Suspended — it hangs until something moves.
Also written F2 or F suspended 2nd. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Fsus2
Three notes on one string set. No seventh, so nothing is claimed about the chord beyond its quality.
Thin on their own, excellent over a bass line or against someone else’s harmony.
Fsus2 has 49 of them, on the high-middle three, the top three strings, the top four strings, the bottom four strings, the middle four strings, the bottom three strings, the low-middle three, strings 6-4-3-2 and strings 5-3-2-1, from open position up to the 15th — every inversion the chord has: F in the bass, G in the bass and C in the bass. The one to learn first is the F shape at the nut, which is the easiest grip here.
6 of them sit on the top four strings, so you can run the inversions up one set without changing strings — which is the whole reason to learn them as a family rather than as separate grips.
Start with xx3563 — no barre and low, at the 3rd fret. None of the shapes for Fsus2 uses an open string, so every one of them is movable; the lowest sits at the 1st fret. 4 of the 8 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 13th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 133x13 | 1st fret | F, root position | G | barred |
| xx3563 | 3rd fret | F, root position | G | all fretted |
| x85568 | 5th fret | F, root position | C | all fretted |
| xx5568 | 5th fret | G, 2nd in the bass | C | all fretted |
| x-8-10-10-8-8 | 8th fret | F, root position | C | barred |
| 13-10-10-12-13-x | 10th fret | F, root position | C | all fretted |
| x-10-10-10-13-13 | 10th fret | G, 2nd in the bass | F | barred |
| 13-x-x-12-13-13 | 12th fret | F, root position | F | barred |
How to use Fsus2
Voice by voice, Fsus2 → F. No voice moves by a semitone, and 2 notes are common to both chords.
| In Fsus2 | Moves | In F |
|---|---|---|
| F, the root | stays where it is | F, the root |
| G, the second | falls a whole tone | F, the root |
| C, the fifth | stays where it is | C, the fifth |
In which keys. Every note of Fsus2 belongs to C major (the IV), C minor (the iv), D minor (the ♭III), Eb major (the ii), F major (the I), F minor (the i), G minor (the ♭VII), Ab major (the vi), A minor (the ♭VI) and Bb major (the V).
What to play over Fsus2
Every note of Fsus2 is in F major pentatonic, F major, F lydian, F mixolydian and F dorian.
Chords near Fsus2
Change one note of Fsus2 and you have F (the ninth becomes a major third), Fm (the ninth becomes a minor third), Fsus4 (the ninth becomes a fourth), Fsus2sus4 (add the fourth), Fadd9 (add the major third) or Fmadd9 (add the minor third).
Fsus2 is a suspended chord — root and fifth, with a second or fourth where the third would be — or nothing at all. Suspended and power chords on every root.
On Fsus2’s sound and use this page follows Robert Rawlins & Nor Eddine Bahha, Jazzology (Hal Leonard, 2005). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.